Memories of a Broken Soul
by Terranei Parker
Summary: Axel's 'fond' memories of Roxas, in memoir format. ...it's not as lame as it sounds? Maybe AkuRoku later, I don't know yet...


It all started with that boy. The day he came everything changed, whether I realized it at the time or not. He was different. Of course, it was obvious when Xemnas introduced him as the key to our success. He was different, for sure: he had no memory of the person he had been. I guess he still is different, if you could say he still exists. Not that we really even exist, anyway.

And then everyone left and the kid was left on his own in the big white room. He looked so helpless and lost - He had no clue what to do. I figured I may as well do something good with my non-life, so I took it upon myself to make him feel welcome.

"Hey kid, the name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He looked at me with those big blue eyes - oh i God /i his eyes were blue - and gave me a puzzled look.

"Sure... I'm Roxas." I put a hand on his shoulder and did my best to sound friendly.

"Welcome to the Organization, Roxas."

I showed him around the place, introducing him to all the other Nobodies. He'd already been fitted for the uniform, and looked about as good as any teenager could in a black leather cloak. We ended the tour (to my disappointment) at his room. It seemed no matter what I did I couldn't get him to open up to me. Of course, there couldn't have been much to say seeing as he had no memories. Still, a thank you would have been nice.

I don't know what it was about Roxas that made me want to get to know him. Nobodies shouldn't even have wants, right?

I didn't see him again until dinner. He was sitting all by himself, hardly eating anything. I came to sit next to him and he gave me the smallest of smiles when I greeted him.

"Hey Axel." It would have made my heart ache, if I had one. I'd never seen anyone look so alone.

"What's got ya down, kid?" I asked sympathetically, or at least I tried to.

"I'm not 'down'. That's not even possible. I don't have a heart, remember?" He sighed. The sad thing was he did have a heart, even if he didn't know it. Then again, it wasn't really his, but it was more than any of the rest of us had. Had I known that at the time, I might have told him as much. As it was, I shrugged, taking my seat. He looked at me long and hard with some unreadable expression in his eyes. I never did figure out what it was. Maybe expectation... Maybe hope. If he gave me that look now I would melt under it like so many ice cream bars. Sea Salt ice cream. His favorite. I'd give anything to see that look again, to see i him /i again. But back to my story.

He gave me that look and I met him with a blank stare. We stayed like that for a while, neither of us moving, him looking for i something /i in my eyes. Whatever he was looking for, he must not have found it because he heaved another sigh and looked away. We both ate in silence for while until he spoke up again.

"Everyone keeps looking at me funny." He said it very matter-of-factly, though he looked almost resentful while saying it. That one caught me by surprise, but I had to laugh a little. He shot me a little glare and I held up my hands apologetically.

"Sorry kid, nothing I can do about that." He sighed again - boy, I swear this kid was going to sigh his lungs out at the rate he was going - and looked disappointedly back at his food. I almost wanted to laugh again: Roxas did such a good impression of a normal human being that one could almost forget he was a Nobody.

"You know, it's because of what Xemnas said." He looked up at me, and this time I was sure it was a shadow of hope I saw in his big blue eyes. "He told everyone you were the 'key to our success'. They're bound to want to get a good look at you." It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but I was never one to beat around the bush. Until I met him, of course. I couldn't figure out why it bothered him so much, but it didn't really matter. The kid was starting to dig his way into where my heart should have been.

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Roxas, Axel, and Xemnas copyright Disney and SquareEnix

I guess this is an average chapter length for me. I had trouble figuring out where to stop... Anyways, tell me what you think. I tried to capture Axel's voice for this, but I'm not sure how well I did... Also, I have yet to figure out what happens next, so the next chapter won't be up for a while. A long while, most likely. Sorry.


End file.
